Monday, February 18, 2008

Monday's Money Funny - Flirting at Work

One of the regular features on my blog is "Monday's Money Funny" which are humorous (or at least humorous to me) articles/jokes/just about anything (real or satire) that I've discovered over the weekend when I catch up on all my on line reading that spark a need for knowledge. For example last week's was a book review on "House Lust: America’s Obsession With Our Homes” by Daniel McGinn.

This Monday I've decided go with a topic that's a little controversial and that's flirting in the work place. This NY Times Article "Two Paths for Aspiring Alpha Females" peeked my interest when one of the authours interviewed talked about using seduction and manipulation to get ahead including flirting.

Below are a few excerpts of the article:

The two principal tactics advocated by Ms. DiSesa are seduction and manipulation. After bundling them together in a glib Madison Avenue abbreviation, she declares that, “All the men in our lives — the ones we work with or live with, admire or desire, and love or hate — are easier to control if we master the Art of S.& M.” Why would men fall for such tactics? “First of all, they love seduction,” she writes. “And second, they are oblivious to manipulation.”
[...]
“One of the greatest tools, or weapons, we have as women is flirting,” she says, later adding, “Men like women who like them.”

Personally, I don't think I've ever knowingly flirted to get ahead, but I've definitely used my awesome personally to seal the deal with a client or get a task accomplished with a subcontractor. I have to say being female in a male dominated industry has its ups and downs, the downs being I feel like I always have to prove myself at the start of any work relationship. I miss out on the "good ole boys" network and don't socialize with them in that setting (ie I don't go with them to Peaches, the local strip club) and I occasionally get called a bitch by workers when they have to fix something that wasn't installed properly - but in that regard I figure the man who told them the same thing would be called a son of a bitch so its all the same. On the plus side I think I'm able to get coroperation and sometimes calmly resolutions a lot better becasue the "good ole boys" don't take too kindly to yelling at women so they'll often hear me out but I don't think that would constitute flirting.

With that in mind I did a little searching about flirting in the workplace and found a different NY Times Q&A article entitled "When Flirty at Work is Flirting with Trouble", also found this very interesting study reported on CNN Money that it does not pay to flirt. In fact according to the study CNN reported about flirting may cost you when it comes to promotions and raises.

I'm not sure what to think. Have you ever flirted at work to get ahead? Ever been flirted with in order to for the flirtee to get ahead?

Stay tuned for next week's Monday's Money Funny. Also if you run across any Monday Funnies please email them to me at future.millionaire.blog@gmail.com and if I use them I will give you credit and link to your blog.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I flirt all the time at work.... of course I work from home, so my wife encourages it :)

"Future Millionaire" said...

@ odnal -- lol lucky you :)

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